(fīn'mən) American physicist who developed the theory of quantum electrodynamics, laying the foundation for all other quantum field theories. His approach combined quantum mechanics and relativity theory, and exploited a method using diagrams of particle interactions to greatly simplify calculations. For this work he shared with American physicist Julian Schwinger and Japanese physicist Sin-Itiro Tomonaga the 1965 Nobel Prize for physics.

person, computing, architecture /fayn'mn/ 1918-1988. A US physicist, computer scientist and author who graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton. Feynmane was a key figure in helping Oppenheimer and team develop atomic bomb. In 1950 he became a professor at Caltech and in 1965 became Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics for QED (quantum electrodynamics). He was a primary figure in "solving" the Challenger disaster O-ring problem. He "rediscovered" the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Tuva. The 2001 film "Infinity" about Feynman's early life featured Matthew Broderick and Patricia Arquette. In 2001, "QED", a play about Feynman's life featuring Alan Alda opened. (http://www.feynman.com/). (2008-01-14)